Embracing the Future
by QuilAndInk9037
Summary: When danger lurks, Sophie, Fitz, Keefe, Biana, Tam, Linh, and Dex have always tried to protect their children and save the day. When a deadly force approaches and threatens Eternalia, will the long time friends be able to work with their children? WARNING: CONTAINS NEVERSEEN SPOILERS!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hi guys, this is my first** **fan fiction and I hope you enjoy it! The first chapter is very short but I promise that all the other ones will be longer. Just to be clear, Adira is Sophie and Fitz's daughter. Please review (so I can improve)!**

 **Disclaimer: The world and all the wonderful characters (except for the ones I made up) belong to Shannon Messenger.**

Adira sat quietly waiting for Cassia in the courtyard of Everglen. She looked at the ground, trying to guess how many dark blue tiles there were. It was a reasonably small space with two stone benches and a flowering mirsaca tree that bloomed yellow flowers every year.

Someone tapped her shoulder. Adira jumped up in surprise.

"Relax," a voice laughed from behind her. "It's just me."

 _Cassia._ Adira's muscles relaxed.

Cassia had light blue eyes and ruffled blonde hair. Or as all the adults said, the spitting image of her father Keefe.

"Ready to go?" Adira asked.

"Obviously," Cassia replied. She had a certain way of speaking that made Adira feel carefree and daring.

"Did you forget to wear you nexus?" Adira asked already knowing the answer.

"No. I didn't want to put it on." After hearing Adira's sigh, she elaborated.

"I'm already at ninety percent," Cassia explained. "It's not a big deal."

"Alright," Adira said. "Just don't blame me if you fade."

And with that, Cassia pulled her into the light.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Thank you to Reyna Kane for following and favoriting this story. Also, thank you to** **Lady Luna for reviewing. Glad you liked it!**

Slurps and Burps had always been passed down through the generations and Casper's dad Dex always said it was a family tradition. Caper had yet to point out to him that the ownership of the apothecary had only been passed down once. For the most part, Casper enjoyed working at the shop and concocting mixtures that would make Pira Larding (the notorious bully at Foxfire) scream. He shoved his light brown hair out of his eyes and sat behind the counter at the front of the store. Caspar heard a shrill voice outside the door.

"Come on Adira. It will be fun," a girl whined.

"Um… Are you sure my parents will let me go in here?" a calmer voice asked hesitantly.

Casper looked up as the door opened. A girl with flowing black hair and teal eyes walked in as well as another girl with blonde hair and ice blue eyes.

"Hello," the blonde girl said as they approached him. He recognized her as the whining one.

"Hi," he replied. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"No," she smiled at him, and he could tell she was forcing herself to be polite.

"This is Cassia Sencen and I'm Adira Vacker," the teal eyed girl said.

The girl was a Vacker? Casper realized that his mouth was open and forced himself to close it. A few moments of uncomfortable silence ensued and he wracked his mind for something to say. He could only think of one thing to say…

"You're a Vacker?" he asked, though it was more of a statement than a question.

"Yeah," she shrugged. "You're Casper Dizznee, right?"

"Yes. How did you know?" he asked his voice hinted with surprise.

"We're in your level at Foxfire," Cassia pointed out.

"Oh," he said. "Sorry. I'm bad with faces and names," he lied.

In truth, he didn't pay much attention to his classmates at Foxfire, only focusing on excelling in his classes and working at Slurps and Burps.

Cassia raised an eyebrow, clearly not convinced.

"Anyway," Adira continued. "I need your help. Do you have something to stop my imp from having nightmares. He won't sleep anymore."

"Yes, we do," Caspar stood up and walked to the back of the store. The bottles clinked as he rummaged through the many rows of remedies.

"I got it," he called and triumphantly help up a clear crystal vile with dark purple liquid inside.

"Thank you," Adira smiled gratefully as he handed it to her.

"See you at school," she said.

"Yeah, you better remember my name," Cassia added.

"Bye," he said. Great. Now he would have to deal with Cassia Sencen at school. Though, Adira Vacker actually seemed kind of nice.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Thank you to EmUnited for following this story! Also thanks you to ThePenguinAndPanda, Lady Luna, and EmUnited for reviewing!**

 **Just to be clear, Abner and Breccan are Fitz and Sophie's sons and Cyra is Keefe and Biana's daughter.**

Keefe walked into Everglen and nostalgia trickled over him as he remembered all the happy memories of his childhood that had happened there.

He saw Sophie, Tam, Alden, Linh, Fitz, and Dex at a table in the living room discussing something in hushed voices. A pang of jealousy washed over him. After he had joined the Neverseen, things had never really been the same. Even after he had helped fight against the Neverseen in the end, he could still feel a little distrust radiating off Dex and Tam. Fitz had taken a long time to heal but now they were friends. Sophie looked up and smiled at him.

"Oh. Hi Keefe! I didn't see you there," She said warmly.

"Sorry I'm late Foster. I just got your note."

"Have you seen Biana?" Fitz asked.

Keefe shook his head.

Fitz's sons Abner and Breccan walked into the room.

"Hey Keefe," Breccan said.

The two boys looked more like Sophie than Fitz with their light blonde hair even though they did have the Vacker eyes.

Just then Biana appeared out of thin air with her daughter Cyra in tow. She wiped her long brown hair out of her eyes and headed towards Sophie.

"Biana!" Sophie exclaimed. They hugged each other tightly.

"Oh Cyra! How is Foxfire going for you?" Sophie asked.

"It's good. My mentor Lady Morshlin is teaching me a lot of things that will strengthen my vanishing skills."

"Okay guys. It's nice to see all of you again but we have something really important to tell you," announced Fitz over the chattering. Silence fell over the friends and they looked at Fitz to continue.

"The council received this note this morning and they decided to give it to us since we have a history of… um, smoothing everything out," Fitz placed a note on the table and everyone leaned towards it.

 _To the council:_

 _You might as well just give up your power now. We have a human, elven, and ogre army ready to storm Eternalia. We are offering you a chance to do it the peaceful way. If not, you don't want to know what will come next._

 _-Neverseen_

Biana had turned pale. "I thought we got rid of the Neverseen."

"We did," replied Keefe. "We kicked their butts in the last battle."

"Well, clearly they're back," Tam sighed.

"Maybe it's a new rebel group who adopted the same name," Abner suggested.

"Yeah. They probably want to scare you by using it," Cyra agreed.

"I don't think so," said Alden. "If they are a rebel group they probably want to be distigui-" he stopped mid sentence.

"Do you hear that?" Alden whispered.

Keefe strained his ears. He heard footsteps coming from downstairs.

* * *

"Come in," said Adira.

"Are you sure your parents aren't here?" Cassia asked nervously.

"Um… Why are you so nervous about my parents?" Adira asked curiously.

"I'm not. It's just that they are kind of over protective about you," Cassia trailed off.

"Whatever," Adira rolled her eyes.

"Ooh! Is it possible that Adira Vacker has become a dare-devil?"  
"Shut it," Adira replied.

She was met with a loud groaning sound.

"What is it?" she said, suddenly concerned.

"Are you feeling really worried right now?" Cassia asked, doubled over.

"No. Maybe someone else is in the house," Adira answered.

"Like a group of people," Cassia whispered. "Come on Vacker, help me."

"My name is not Vacker! Maybe try blocking the feelings. Pretend there is a shield around you and every time an emotion tries to get past the shield, it bounces back," suggested Adira.

"Okay. They are slowly fading. How did you know how to do that?" Cassia asked, exposing a side of her that wasn't spiteful.

"That sometimes happens with really loud people in telepathy," Adira shrugged.

"Do you think there are burglars here?" Cassia whispered quietly.

"I don't think so. Maybe my dad is meeting with a very concerned citizen," Adira suggested.

"I don't think so. It was more like a group," Cassia started to walk up the stairs, pulling Adira with her.

"What are you doing? What if we disrupt some meeting?" Adira questioned.

"Come on! Are you scared?" Cassia teased confidently.

Adira pushed ahead of Cassia and opened the living room doors.

Everyone turned to look at her.

"Who is it?" Cassia called.

"Um…" Adira faltered.

"Well it seems like your curious daughter knows we're here now," Tam muttered.

Cassia peered into the room.

 _This is not fair. I can't believe that you went behind our backs to create some meeting and excluded your grandchildren!_ Adira transmitted to Alden

 ** _Sorry. It was Sophie's idea, he replied._**

 _Really? Isn't that a bit hypocritical? Didn't she go on all those dangerous adventures when she was a kid?_

Alden laughed out loud.

"Maybe you should tell her that," he grinned, forgetting to speak in his head.

 _WHAT? NO! she transmitted emphatically._

"Hello?" Cassia said. "Is someone in there?""Can you stop staring off into space. It's creepy!"

"Sorry!" she replied. "Haven't you seen me transmit before?" she asked quizzically.

Cassia turned to her father. "That is not as dramatic as you described it," Cassia announced accusingly.

Keefe grinned.

"So this is the new Wonderboy and Keefe!" Dex peered at them.

Adira and Cassia both ignored the comment

"Okay. So presumably they held a secret meeting without us, are blaming us for making it not secret anymore, and are probably forcing us to get out," Cassia said, addressing Adira.

Adira was too busy staring at her mother's guilty expression.

"Sorry?" Sophie smiled.

"Come on Cassia. We don't need to be here. I'm sure Alden will help them figure it out, whatever the problem is," Adira said loudly. And with that they walked out, leaving at least five open mouths in their wake.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you to Lady Luna and EmUnited for reviewing! Just to be clear, Casper is Dex and Linh's son and Harlan is Wylie's son. Sorry that I haven't updated this week :( but I think that this is my best chapter yet! Hope you enjoy:)**

Adira woke up early the next morning, not wanting to face her parents about the awkward interaction the day before. She glanced out her window but was immediately captivated by the brilliant colors brushed across the sky, and the yellow sun in the middle of it all. It was like a festival of colors, dancing and celebrating perpetually.

She threw on her Foxfire uniform: the leggings, shirt, skirt and dark blue cape. After brushing out her hair, she went into the kitchen. It was a large room that lacked the cosy comfort of the courtyard and the grandeur splendor of many of the older rooms of Everglen. A small glass table stood as the informal eating place for hurried children (or parents) and a white kitchen island stood in the center of the cooking space. Adira never ventured there much, seeing as her food was usually prepared for her. She rummaged around in a cabinet, and finally found some raw carnissa root and a bottle of lushberry juice. She bit in, her teeth penetrating the hard surface of the purple plant. Juice trickled down her chin, and she wiped it off.

Adira had never had raw carnissa root before, and surprisingly she liked it. It was moist and savory, it's exotic aroma filling up her nostrils. She found herself taking more of it, and had to force herself to put it away.

She downed her sweet juice in one gulp and headed outside.

The vibrant colors had faded from the sky, bleaching it of it seductive charm and fading it to a familiar light blue. Clouds dotted the sky, wisps of pale white, against the never-ending blue. The grass squeaked beneath her feet, the dew making it hard to walk.

She turned around, and ran up to her room. The light-leaper dangling from her ceiling was turning in slow circles, the crystals catching small rainbows in their glass.

"Foxfire!" she screamed.

She walked into the light, and Everglen slowly disappeared behind her

Adira walked to her locker. She was early, and only a handful of students were in the halls. She licked the metal strip on her locker: it was mallowmelt. She still had forty minutes until her alchemy session.

Someone tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey," Cassia said quietly.

"Hi Cassia. I didn't think you usually got to school this early," Adira responded.

"I don't. I just had to get out of the house,"Cassia said flatly.

"Me too. I just can't believe they didn't invite us to the meeting. Everyone in my entire family was there except for you and I," Adira ranted.

"And Casper," Cassia reminded her.

"Oh… yeah," Adira said.

After her uneventful alchemy session, Adira headed to lunch. She saw Cassia picking out her food. After choosing a variety of different colors, she headed to towards the seating area.

"How 'bout we sit over there?" Cassia suggested, pointing to a table in the corner of the room where two boys were sitting.

"Sure," Adira shrugged.

* * *

"Hey Casper," a voice said.

He looked up. It was Cassia: the girl with blonde hair from the shop they day before.

"Hi," he said. He had thought that the girls wouldn't approach him at school, much less the day after they met.

His friend Harlan looked up at him, questioningly.

"Cassia Sencen and Adira Vacker, meet Harlan Endal," Casper announced.

Adira sat down at the table. She glanced at the boy across from her. He had dark brown hair and grayish-blue eyes.

"Nice to meet you," he said.

"Nice to meet you, " she responded.

"So, what are your abilities?" Cassia asked.

"I'm a telepath," Harlan replied.

"Technopath," Casper sighed. "Don't people only have one ability?" he asked.

"No," Cassia said defensively. "Adira has two."

"I'm can teleport and I'm telepath," Adira explained. "So, what session did you come from?" she asked, in an attempt to make small talk.

"PE," Casper groaned.

"I hate that too!" Cassia moaned.

"Well, well. If it isn't the freaks sitting all together," a high vice sneered from behind her.

Adira turned around. "Pira."

"Vacker. How's your freak mother?" she said.

"Good. And yours?" Adira said pleasantly.

"Fine. But by the way, everyone knows that you're a worthless telepath that even your parents can't trust."

That stung but Adira tried not to let her know.

"Shut up!" Casper said.

"Go away Pira," Harlan agreed.

"Aw! Even you are sticking up for the losers?" she replied in disgust.

"Sorry. It was nice to chat with you but I need to go," Adira said, abruptly getting up.

She walked out of the cafeteria and to the room where her telepathy session was held.

"Good afternoon," she said respectfully, to her mentor Tiergan.

"Good afternoon," he responded. "Today we'll begin with an exercise," he said. "Try to get into my mind," he announced.

"She nodded. Placing her hands upon his temples, she started.

Instantly, she could see herself in a maze with tall stone walls covered with ivy. The leafy tendrils tried to reach the sky, but never made it.

Inside the maze walls, trees and plants grew. It would be impossible to see the roots of the trees in such a dimly lit space but she decided to try anyway.

She started to walk slowly through the corridor reaching over the gnarled tree roots, and stumbling through the plants. She felt her strength wavering and new she couldn't stay in the maze for that much longer.

She started to run, jumping nimbly over the plants but tripped over a root. She started to run again, pushing herself off the ground and then watching the floor for anything that might her stumble.

Finally, she saw an open space and could hear all of Tiergan's thoughts.

 _When will he come? Will they work together well?_

 _I'm in,_ she transmitted.

 ** _I know. I can feel it,_** he transmitted back. **_You can come out now._**

 _Okay._

Adira broke her concentration.

"Okay. That was great. I have another student coming over. It's useful to have a fellow telepathy to trust if you are every in a dangerous situation, and if you are anything like your mom, you probably will be," Tiergan explained.

"Sure," Adira agreed.

A boy with dark hair walked into the room: Harlan.

"Hello," he said.

"Hi," she said.

"I take it that you two already know each other?" Tiergan asked.

"We met today during lunch," Harlan explained.

"Great! Since you don't know each other that well, try transmitting and getting to know each other better."

 _Hi_ , she transmitted.

 ** _Hi._**

His voice was strong in her head. Strong and firm.

 ** _So, how do you know Casper?_**

 _We just met yesterday, but our parents are friends._

 ** _Really? Who are your parents?_**

 _Sophie and Fitz Vacker._

 ** _Isn't your mom the elf with brown eyes who went on all those adventures to stop the Neverseen?_**

 _Yeah. Your father is Wylie Endal?_

 ** _Yes. Do you have siblings?_**

 _Two brothers and you?_

 ** _An older brother and older sister._**

 _Cool. Is Tiergan your mentor?_

 ** _Yes. He's very nice._**

 _Yeah. I've known him all my life.  
_ ** _Even when you were a baby?  
_** _Yup. He was my mom's mentor._

 ** _Isn't it a bit weird to have known your mentor your whole life?_**

 _A bit._

 ** _Does Pira regularly bully you?_**

 _Pretty much every day._

 ** _Don't let her bother you._**

 _Trust me. I'm not going too. She doesn't really bother me that much,_ Adira lied. In truth, Pira did get to her a lot.

"I hope you two learn more about each other today. We can continue this next session," Tiergan announced, breaking their concentration.

"Bye," Adira said.

"Bye," Harlan said.

She walked out into the hallway but was immediately accosted by Pira Larding.

"What are you doing, having a session with Harlan Vacker?" Pira hissed.

Adira ignored her.

"Nevermind," Pira muttered. "Everyone know that you're too dumb to speak." "And I heard that your parents don't even think that you're a telepath. And that they scheduled a meeting with Magnate Leto to see if you can get easier studies," she continued.

That went too far. All Adira wanted to do now was to go home, curl up into a ball, and cry. Pira's words hurt like a knife. They stabbed at her until she felt the pain.

She pushed through the crowd and went to the LightLeapers.

"Everglen," she shouted.

Footsteps came running after her.

"Everglen!" a chorus of voices shouted.

She stepped into the light.

She landed outside the gates and immediately went in.

She ran to a field. She just wanted to get away from Foxfire and from Pira, and from her parents, and from everyone.

Her lip quivered and she started to cry. Her voice pierced the tranquil silence, chords of helplessness and sorrow. She hated that everyone didn't trust her or thought that she was too naive to handle any news.

Anger rose in her throat.

"It's okay," someone soothed from behind her. It was Cassia. Cassia who was always there for her. Cassia who believed in her. Cassia who trusted her.

All feelings of anger were washed away by the powerful bond of friendship.

"Yeah. Pira's a jerk," someone muttered from behind her.

She turned around to see Casper and Harlan behind her.

She wiped her eyes. "Do you want to play Basequest?" she asked.

"Sure," Cassia grinned. "You and me versus Casper and Harlan."

"Agreed," said Casper.

"We'll start out trying to tag you," Cassia said.

"It's on," Casper grinned.

Cassia pulled Adira behind a tree.

"When we see them we'll tag them," she whispered.

Adira heard a scream.

"Something's wrong,"Adira muttered.

She ran further into the field where she saw a figure in black hunched over someone.

 _Cassia! There is some one here and they look really dangerous. HELP!_ she transmitted.

She ran to where the man was standing, and saw Casper trembling on the floor.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" she roared.

The man turned to her in surprise. He reached for her, missing her arms but touching her face. Heat started to warm her cheeks. they started to sizzle.

"Ow," she said instinctively.

Cassia ran at him. She kicked him and punched him until the man rolled away from her and pulled out his pathfinder. Then he was gone.

Thoughts raced through Adira's mind. She looked down at Casper. Burns dotted his arms and face. He lay unconscious.

She picked him up by the arms as Harlan did the same with his legs. Cassia grabbed her hand, and she teleported them to Foxfire.

"Little freak back again," Pira taunted.

Adira snapped. "GET OUT OF MY WAY!"  
Pira ran.

They ran to Elwins office, their feet a blur in their effort to get Casper treated as quickly as possible.

"What happened?" Elwin asked.

"We were attacked at Everglen," Harlan said. "Will he be okay?"

Elwin didn't reply, but rather started apply a thick paste onto Casper's arms.

"We'll go inform his parents," Cassia offered.

She took Adira's arm and they walked to the light leapers.

"Atlantis!" Cassia yelled, her voice shaking.

They hobbled through the streets approaching Slurps And Burps. Adira pushed the door open and was surprised to see not only Dex and Linh but also Keefe, Fitz, Sophie, Breccan, Alden, Biana, Cyra, and Tam.

"What are you kids doing here?" Cyra snapped, sounding annoyed.

"We don't have time for this right now," Sophie said gently.

"REALLY!" Adira yelled. "I doubt that because this is important-"

"We're in the middle of something right now," Dex said.

Adira went on. "Your son was attacked by a pyrokentic. I think that you can stop your secret meeting for that!" she yelled.

Fitz's face went pale as he noticed the burns on their faces.

"A pyrokentic? Where?"

"Everglen," Cassia replied sounding weary and tired.

"Why were you stupid enough to let him touch you?" Cyra snapped.

"Pain doesn't matter as much as _lives_ do," Cassia snapped back.

Cassia and Adira left, and Adira could hear some people running after her. Adira knew they all had the same intention but the two groups were going to be united until the parents started to realize that their kids didn't always need to be protected. In fact, most of the time the kids were the ones trying to be the _protectors._


	5. Chapter 5

**I would just like to thank everyone who has reviewed/followed/favorited this story. It's an amazing feeling to know that people like your work and it always puts a smile on my face. Also thank you to EmUnited for reviewing Chapter Four! This chapter is a bit more emotional than the others. I hope you guys enjoy!**

Adira woke up, confused as to where she was. Harsh light shone into her eyes from the ceiling above, so she sat up. She recognized where she was: Elwin's office.

Suddenly it all came flowing back to her, and she was overwhelmed by the wave of sorrow that had washed over her.

Cassia walked over to her.

"Hey," she whispered.

"Hey."

They hugged and Adira buried her head into Cassia's hair. They were locked into an embrace. Adira hugged her tighter, as if she let go she would die.

She let go and studied Cassia. Circles had made their way under her eyes and her hair looked like stringy and full of knots. Her face was streaked with red, and tears trickled down her nose and cheeks.

Adira started to walk, putting her arm around Cassia and Cassia did the same.

They walked into the hallway. Pira Larding stepped in front of them.

"Please not today, Pira," Cassia said softly.

"I just wanted to say sorry. I didn't think that what I was doing would hurt your feelings so much. I know I was being a jerk. If you need anything, just ask. Maybe we can be friends now," Pira said quickly.

"Thanks Pira," Adira smiled weakly.

"Really?" Tears started to stream down Pira's face. "I thought you would, except now I feel so bad because I saw Casper and-" she burst into tears, her moans filling the entire hallway.

Adira put an arm around her shoulder. It was an unspoken form of acceptance. Three girls crying, walking in step, through a deserted hallway.

"I'm sorry," Sophie had said to Dex. "I didn't realize that they would get hurt if we protected them."

"It's fine," he had said. But he hadn't looked fine. His face was pale and worried.

She felt like she wasn't doing anything right. Adira, Getting to the bottom of the note, protecting the people she loved. Her life was taking a turn for the worst.

The hardest part had been seeing Adira curled up on a cot in Elwin's office. After hearing her screams, they had sedated her and rubbed the salve gently onto her burnt cheeks.

The next day she went to Foxfire. It looked so different from the busy place that had been so alive when she had gone there. The hallways were quiet with students who were saddened by the state of Casper, Dex's son.

"Hi, she said to Fitz.

"Hi," he replied with a faint encouraging smile.

Magnate Leto, Fitz and her had walked through the school silently while Sophie thought and reflected.

Magnate Leto drew her out of her thoughts. "You had wanted to talk about Adira?"

"Yes," Fitz replied. "How are her classes going?"

"Actually she is excelling in alchemy, telepathy, and most of her other classes," Magnate Leto replied in his calm voice.

"How about the other kids?" Sophie asked. "Is she friends with them?"

"You barely ever see her apart from Cassia Sencen and she seems to be friendly with Casper Dizznee and Harlan Endal. However, there is a bully that seems to bother her: Pira Larding."

They rounded the corner. Voices echoed in the hallway.

"Do you think he'll get better?" a high pitched voice sniffled.

"Of course he'll get better," a familiar voice said reassuringly.

"I know, but it's just that I was so horrible to him, and now I feel like, like he'll hate me forever!" the girl broke into sobs.

"Shh," the other girl said softly. "Everything is going to be okay. Right now, I think that maybe we have to cry our eyes out and then everything will be okay."

Three girls approached them: Cassia, Adira, and a girl she didn't recognize with long blonde hair. Their faces were raw: red from crying with circles under their eyes.

"Ms. Larding, I do hope you were not belittling Ms. Vacker and Ms. Sencen," Magnate Leto said sternly.

Adira glanced at Pira who seemed like she would burst into tears any second. Her sympathy grew for the girl who had bullied her.

 _Keep calm. Keep calm. Keep calm,_ she transmitted, her mantra pounding through her head.

She closed her eyes. _Keep calm. Keep calm. Keep calm. Keep calm. Keep calm. Keep calm. Keep calm. Keep calm. Keep calm. Keep calm. Keep calm. Keep calm. Keep calm. Keep calm. Keep calm. Keep calm. Keep calm. Keep calm. Keep calm. Keep calm. Keep calm._ She didn't care how loud her message was. It vibrated through her.

"No," Pira replied. She held her head high.

Magnate Leto nodded then, said "Excellent transmitting, . Especially appropriate in this dark time."

Sophie, Fitz, and the Magnate walked away. Once they were out of earshot, Adira spoke.

"Do you think he could hear me?" she asked.

"Well, I could," Cassia responded.

They kept walking.

Casper felt like he was on fire. A tingling sensation burned through him, rubbing into him. It felt cold, very cold. So hot that it felt freezing.

He wanted to fight against it, but he felt weak. He felt impotent, unable to help himself battle the constant fire.

He was dizzy. Incoherent thoughts swirled through his mind, scattering his pain, nurturing his confusion.

He could see a light staring down at him, but it was soon replace with darkness. The warm, comforting darkness of his mind.

He tried to get out, but his eyelids fought against him trapping him in the dark. It was his prison, and he tried to shake the bars of his cell but it was to no avail. Every time he just spiraled back into the constant darkness.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi guys! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in... well, FOREVER! I will make sure I post more regularly from now on! Hope you enjoy Chapter 6!**

Casper opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was someone staring over him: his mother. She tucked her long black hair behind his ears and hugged him. He embraced her, wrapping his arms around her until they met at her back.

"You're up," she whispered.

"Yeah."

He could hear her start to cry and he could feel the cool trail of tears sliding down his cheeks too. He didn't know why he was so emotional but he felt like there was a big ball in his throat that he needed to get out.

"I'm so glad you're back," she murmured.

He did not reply. They hugged in silence, and he felt like their arms were attached when she broke off.

"Oh! I forgot… Your friends want to speak to you. They just have been waiting here for an hour!" She rose from her position next to the cot.

He did too, and shakily began to walk towards the door. She walked there before him and hastily opened the door.

"Hey guys," he said. "How ar-"

He was interrupted as three people stumbled in and started to hug him.  
"It's nice to see you too," his voice sounded muffled from the bodies surrounding him.

"Are you sore?" Adira asked, extracting her self from the hug.

When Harlan and Cassia pulled away, he responded. "Yes. They are burns after all … So, how long have I been asleep?"

"Two days now," Harlan replied.

"Really! Two days?… It felt like so much longer," he murmured.

"Have you been allowed to go out or are we going to have stay here?" Cassia asked.

He looked back uncertainly, not knowing what the answer was.

After seeing his confused look she said, "Never mind, I'm sure you're cleared. We can go to Atlantis if you want," she suggested.

* * *

Adira looked around the colorful shops of Atlantis. She now viewed it through a different lense then the past few days. She could sense that the encounter with the strange man had pulled Harlan, Casper, Cassia, and herself together so they were more unified and stronger.

Cassia pulled them into a shop that was made of soft blue crystals that glinted harshly in the light.

A heavenly smell filled her nose: mallowmelt. She peered around until she found a display case, full of sweets. Red, yellow, blue, green, purple, pink, it was all there.

"Can we have four pieces of mallowmelt please?" she asked the elf working behind the counter.

After glancing back at Cassia's doubtful face she amended her order. "Actually, can I make that twelve pieces please?"

The elf tucked her long brown hair into a bun and nodded. She bent down and opened the case, extracting twelve warm pieces of freshly baked mallow melt and put them on a crystal tray.

Adira brought the tray over to the nearby table where Harlan, Casper and Cassia were all sitting.

"So how are you feeling?" Adina asked.

"I'm fine," Casper shrugged. "When we get back, I'm probably never going to get out of my mom's sight."

"Don't worry," Cassia replied. "We'll soon remedy that."

"You will?" Capser asked, surprised.

"We will?" Adira raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, we will," Cassia replied, with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"And let me guess, this plan will involved breaking the rules?" Adira asked.

"Of course it will. Doesn't every plan?"

"Only the ones you make," Adira muttered.

* * *

"Hey Biana! I was just going out. What's up?" Sophie asked casually as her sister-in-law bounded into Everglen.

"Nothing. I just wanted to see if you were okay. Are you?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. Just a little shaken, I guess. You?"

"Oh, I'm okay. Who'd've guessed that would have happened to Dex's son?"

"Not me," Sophie muttered.

"Are you guys still coming over for dinner tonight?"

"Oh! I forgot about that. Yeah, I guess I'll see you tonight."

"Actually I was wondering if you maybe wanted to go shopping with me!"

"Where?" Sophie asked.

"Why! Atlantis, of course!"

Sophie didn't have time to reply before her friend pulled her out the door.


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you to Booknerd726 for favoriting, following, and reviewing:)**

 **Hope you enjoy the next chapter**

"So Abner, how is school?" Biana asked.

"Good," he shrugged.

"So, I hear that you're applying for your matchmaking scroll next month," she said slyly.

"Oh… yeah, I am."

"So, do you know who you want on your list?"

Abner flushed pink and Fitz gave his sister a look.

"Sorry," she muttered.

Adira thought the "family" dinner was more than a bit awkward. Especially because Cassia just sat staring at her soup, while her aunt Biana talked about matchmaking.

"Are you just going to stare at your food the entire time?" she whispered discreetly to Cassia.

"Well, there isn't much else to do."

"So when _do_ you talk to your family?" She asked.

"You are family," Cassia looked up, her face triumphant.

"You know that's not what I meant."

Their conversation was interrupted by Biana. "So, what are you girls talking about?"

Everyone glanced at them expectedly.

"Cassia's soup," Adira replied as Cassia said,"Nothing."

Cyra raised an eyebrow.

Sophie continued the previous conversation. "I remember when i got my matchmaking scroll," she trailed off.

"Oh yes! What was it again?" Fiz asked jokingly.

"Well, you were #1 on Sophie's list, Keefe was #2-" Biana started to recite.

"Wait! Did you actually memorize my list?" Sophie interrupted.

"Of course I did! I'm your best friend," Biana answered. "Jensi was number #3." After looking at the mostly bored faces, she said, "Oh, well. You can basically tell they have a happily ever after!" She smiled.

 _Uggh! This is so boring,_ Adira transmitted into Cassia's mind.

 _What! This is so cool! I can't believe we can talk inside my head._

 ** _Pay attention!_** _Her father's voice sounded inside her head._

 _Your love life is very interesting,_ she thought back.

 ** _I can't tell. Was that supposed to be an insult or a compliment?_**

 _A fact._

 ** _So, what are you and Cassia plotting?_**

 _I am_ _not_ _plotting anything! Though, even if Cassia was plotting something I would_ _never_ _tell you!_

 ** _Why not! Am I that uncool?_**

 _You would have been a pathetic teenager!_

 ** _I take offense!_**

 _But anyway, the reason I wouldn't tell you is because you wouldn't want to know._

 ** _I wouldn't?  
_** _It would probably be too dangerous._

 ** _But seriously: someone attacked Dex's son. You guys need to be careful._**

 _We will. I would never be stupid enough to let Cassia get herself killed. Do you know who that guy was?_

 ** _No, but we're trying to figure out._**

 _Why did you and mom hide that meeting from us?_

 ** _Sorry. It was Sophie's idea, but we just wanted to protect you. When we were your age we had to battle the Neverseen and we don't want that for you guys._**

 _I know._

Adira and her father were interrupted by Sophie who joined in.

 ** _So what are you guys transmitting?_**

 _Nothing._

 ** _That sounded a bit suspicious_**

 _Did it?_

"Adira," Cassia hissed.

Adira broke off the conversation. She started to eat some of her soup and listening in on the conversation.

"I was definitely the most popular kid at Foxfire," Keefe laughed. "And then maybe Fitz could be considered for second place."

"What? Go ahead and lie, Keefe. Go ahead and lie," Fitz smirked.

"Are you too arguing over popularity right now? " Sophie interrupted.

"Foster. This is serious. I have a record to maintain!" Keefe said defensively.

"Can't you do this in private! Maybe everyone is getting a bit bored by your vanity," she responded triumphantly.

Keefe looked around the table to see Cyra on her imparter messaging her friends, Cassia staring at her soup while Adira stared at the wall, and Abner and Breccan\ talked quietly.

"Wow, this is a low-energy group," he stated. "Pathetic!"

"Foster! DO something"

"I'm sorry. Silent teenagers are the only things I can't change,"she grinned.

"Cassia, wake up!" Fitz said.

Adira nudged her friend but discovered it didn't work so she transmitted. _WAKE UP! WAKE UP!_ as loud she could.

Cassia eventually sat up in her chair.

"Ow! You didn't have to do that so loudly, you know,' she groaned.

Adira gave her a slight smile.

"So Cassia, how is school going?" Sophie asked.

"Well, I passed my courses if that's what you mean," she shrugged.

 _Yeah, with a 75%!_

"Could you please stop transmitting. You telepaths are so annoying!" she grumbled

Adira smirked.

"I know, right!" Keefe agreed, scowling in Fitz's direction.

Fitz smirked.

Continuing with their conversation, Cassia said, "It's not my fault you got a 100 on your exams."

"A 100 percent!" Keefe gasped. "I think there is something wrong with your child," he addressed Sophie and Fitz.

Cassia grinned while Adira shot her a death stare.

"So what were you guys doing in Atlantis?" Biana asked. "Shopping?" she asked hopefully.

Adira shook her head. "We were just talking," she replied.

" You mean plotting," Fitz whispered loudly.

"You guys need to be careful," Sophie said sternly.

"We know," Cassia mumbled.

"So when you get yourselves killed, remember to leave a note!" Cyra snapped.

"Teenagers," Sophie muttered.


End file.
